
Survival strategies
Thought For Today – 7/9/11
A must read post from Tony Schwartz at the HBR Blog Network.

Pick Your Enemies Wisely
BBC Nature – Warring ants know their enemies
Take Home Lesson:
Pick your battles carefully. Adjust your response to the threat.

Bob MacDonald on Business
For Independent Marketing Organizations the Choice is Simple: Live Free or Die!
Defending the Future of Independent Marketing Organizations: Part Two
I met Bob a long time ago in a far away place called Minnesota. It’s nice to see he hasn’t changed much over the years.

The Indentured Servant Class – 6/26/11
Free Expert Advice
Free Small Business Software Alternatives
A couple of years ago I drafted a consulting proposal for a bunch of investors interested in starting a new life insurance company. The investors didn’t want to spend a lot of money on infrastructure, so I drafted a proposal that emphasized outsourcing and the use of cloud based software services that were either extremely low-cost or in some cases, free. I wrote:
The creation and implementation of a low-cost distributed collaborative workforce offers the new company an additional distinct competitive advantage in the industry… The new company will not be constrained by legacy systems, outdated processes, or asset quality issues. We will create an administrative infrastructure built upon low-cost world-class services furnished by companies with a proven track record of success. This simplified example shows how quickly and inexpensively a customized group of outsourcing partners can be assembled to provide core administrative services for the new company.
Since that time I have wanted to update my list of free software services but now I don’t have to. Stephen Murphy of getbusy media wrote a great little article which can be accessed though the link above. The other link is just something else I’ve been playing with.
And for the curious, no I did not get the gig two years ago.

Thought for Today – 6/15/11
“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”
W. Edwards Deming
Down 33% Since 2006 (no Scary Chart)
Case-Shiller: Current Slump in US Housing Market Worse Than Great Depression
No scary chart needed for this awful number.

Intern Nation – Book Reviews
The Non-Mobile Society
Calculated Risk: Labor Mobility: Starting to Increase
This blog post on CalculatedRisk references an article from the Financial Times. I am struck by the differences in word choices. FT uses “picks up sharply” while CalculatedRisk states “starting to increase”. In conversations with my recruiter friends I’ve become aware of slightly higher activity in job openings. Some of these openings included paid relocation. A few years ago employers stopped offering paid relocation. These changes are not insignificant. But the job market remains weak.
Starting to increase is a better choice of words.

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